About First H.E.L.P.
First H.E.L.P. reduces mental health stigma for First Responders through education, advocating for benefits for those suffering from post-traumatic stress, acknowledging the service and sacrifice of First Responders lost to suicide, assisting officers in their search for healing, and bringing awareness to suicide and mental health issues.
OUR PILLARS
Honor– We honor the fallen and their families, recognizing the sacrifices made and the lives lost. This includes Camp April, a cost-free children’s camp for families affected by first responder suicides, as well as our Annual Honor Dinner, where families come together to celebrate their heroes and memorialize their losses.
Educate– From the first responder in the field — officer, firefighter, medic, or communications officer — to the chain of command and families at home, we educate all those touched by public service. Our programs highlight the stressors of the job and the effects of PTSI/OSI incidents, while providing tools to navigate the unseen side of service. We offer training at every level, from responder to supervisor, including Family Readiness, Provider Readiness, and Recruit Readiness programs.
Lead– We lead at the state and federal levels, advocating for first responders and their families. Our mission is to ensure PTSI/OSI struggles are acknowledged, that suicides among first responders are recognized on par with line-of-duty deaths, and that accountability and fairness are extended to those who serve and their families.
Prevent– Through our #ResponderReadiness Workshop Series, we focus on prevention by building healthy, positive behaviors that foster an organizational culture ready to serve. Prevention also means collecting and publishing national suicide data for all first responders, freely accessible to all, while raising continued awareness of mental health challenges within the profession.
Our History
In 2017, our vision was to create an organization that included all first responder disciplines. At that time, there was a clear gap in efforts to gather data and to honor those who had served their communities with distinction but were denied respect because they died by suicide. Ultimately, the founders realized the undertaking was too large to manage while working full-time jobs, so the decision was made to begin with a focus on law enforcement. Over the years, however, we have been approached by professionals and families from every first responder discipline, asking if we would expand our mission to include their fields as well.
Today, we can finally answer: yes.
Meet the First H.E.L.P. Team
Karen Solomon
Founder / President
Karen is the author of Hearts Beneath the Badge and The Price They Pay as well as many articles about law enforcement suicide. Her focus is the stories of the families who have lost an officer to suicide and the officers who suffer with the feeling that they have nowhere to turn. Karen was a member of the 2018 Officer Safety and Wellness Group Meeting, the co-Chair of the Data and Research Committee of the National Consortium on Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention and is currently on the FBI task force to implement the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act. Karen is also the wife of a police officer.
Shawn Thomas
Board Member
Shawn is the founder of 1st Responder Conferences and a retired deputy from the King County Sheriff’s Office in Seattle, WA. Shawn retired in 2022 after 25 years of service as a Wellness and Resiliency Detective and a therapy K9 handler. During her career, Shawn worked patrol, served as an undercover detective, a detective in the warrant unit, transit patrol, and as an explosive K9 handler. She was also a dedicated member of the peer support team for 16 years, serving as a team lead for several of those years.
Shawn is married to Jeff, who is also a retired King County Sheriff’s Office Deputy. Together, they have two young men: Andrew, who is a volunteer resident firefighter, and Cooper, who is actively involved in the Army ROTC program and the Washington National Guard. Outside of her professional work, Shawn is passionate about supporting first responders, promoting mental health awareness, and fostering community resilience. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and continuing to find ways to give back to those who serve.
Erin Smith
Board Member
Erin Smith, a native of Georgia, holds a degree in Family, Child and Consumer Sciences from Florida State University and a Sport Management degree from Bowling Green State University. She went on to work in college football at the University of Virginia, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Richmond, where she was one of the first female Director of Football Operations at the Division I level. Education and sports were two driving forces in Smith’s life – leading her to overcome barriers and pursue a career she was passionate about.
Smith continued to pursue her passion for learning following her football career, working for an education production company that provided resources to continuing education learners. Smith then went on to work for a high profile recruiting firm in the corporate communications, government relations, general counsels, and government and regulatory affairs sectors.
Smith, the widow of Officer Jeffrey L. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department, Washington D.C., died in the Line of Duty on January 15, 2021 due to injuries he suffered at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Officer Smith\’s death led to Erin assisting with the passing of the The Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022. Smith has continued working to educate and inform others that silent injuries can be Line of Duty Deaths.
Smith resides in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Dana Jackson
Board Member
Dana Jackson is the widow of Community Service Officer Erik Humphrey, a 20-year employee of the Eugene Police Department in Oregon. Erik was on the Peer Support team early in his career and would later go on to serve as the President of their police union. An on-the-job injury in 2001 would set him on a 13-year chronic pain journey that would ultimately lead to his suicide in 2014. Dana’s focus turned towards becoming a solo mother of their children while navigating life without her husband who she had spent 26 years with. Besides working for an insurance company, Dana volunteers with First HELP and speaks at 1st Responder Conference across the United States telling her family’s story in hopes that other first responders will realize they do not have to suffer in silence. Dana remarried in 2020 and enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.
Sharonda Calderon
ADVISOR
ShaRonda Young Calderon is the widow of Deputy Homero Calderon, an 18yr veteran with the Dallas County Sheriff Department, who died by suicide on June 29, 2018. She has a bachelor degree in criminal justice from Dallas Baptist University and currently pursuing advance studies in psychology. She and her husband started their career together in law enforcement with the Sheriff Dept in 2000. She currently works as a legal assistant for a small law firm in Dallas TX. ShaRonda has become an advocate for mental health and suicide awareness because she understands the difficulties living with and the stigma attached to it.
Melissa Swales
ADVISOR
Melissa Swailes is the widow of David Swailes, LAPD officer who died by suicide on Feb. 26, 2016. Since his death she has worked tirelessly to overcome her own fight with PTSD as well as advocate for comprehensive officer wellness programs. She works closely with the Los Angeles Police Department Behavioral Science Services as well as the Family Support Group to promote suicide awareness initiatives and helps organize support for surviving families of fallen officers.